


Swooning Fanboy

by elirwen



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Alternating, Reincarnation, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-10
Updated: 2012-10-10
Packaged: 2017-11-16 01:39:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/534057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elirwen/pseuds/elirwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is a big fan of The Knights, especially their frontman, Arthur Pendragon, so of course he's excited when he gets to go to their concert for the first time.</p><p>~x~</p><p>Arthur is used to a lot of stuff after years of concerting, but tonight seems different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swooning Fanboy

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you can picture the style of the band, I was thinking a crossover between Muse and 30 Seconds to Mars.

Two hours of waiting in the stiflingly hot evening air at the entrance to the concert area had paid off and Merlin was now pressed to the railing right in front of the stage.

His body was thrumming with anticipation as he watched the crew making final adjustments. He was trying to catch sight of the familiar blond hair even when he knew Arthur would probably be relaxing, saving energy for the show.

Another hour later, the music started playing and The Knights ran onto the stage, assuming their positions. Lance and Gwaine with their guitars, Percy at the drums and Arthur at the centre, taking the mike from its stand.

Merlin’s heart was beating fast as he jumped up and down and cheered. The Knights (especially Arthur) had been his obsession for years, but he had never had the chance to go to their concert before.

Arthur greeted them and audience roared even more. They kicked off with one of their older hits and didn’t slow down for any of the next five songs. The crowd was moving to the rhythm, singing and shouting along. Everything that mattered was the music, the swaying of the dancers around him, the sweat and heat and adrenaline. And Arthur’s look that seemed to burn right through him.

Almost half an hour later during one of the slower pieces, Merlin’s head began to swim. He grabbed the railing trying to breathe through it and shook his head to clear it. It worked for a little while longer, but then his vision blurred again, the music turned into unrecognizable noise in the background, and the whole world tilted to the side. His knees buckled under him and he plunged into the darkness.

~x~

Arthur was used to the high of performing in front of thousands of fans. He was used to the lovestruck looks of fangirls and occasional fanboys. He was used to marriage proposals being shouted at him during the short breaks in between songs or underwear being tossed onto the stage.

He learned to ignore the audience as a group of individuals, seeing it only as a faceless crowd. It made things easier.

But from the first moment on the stage that day, he felt that tonight would be different. He took a deep breath and shouted his greetings into the microphone, letting his eyes run over the people, even when he could see clearly only the first few rows, the rest lost in the darkness of the night.

He nodded to his band-mates and let the music drag him away. 

After a few songs he realized his sight kept straying to a tall dark-haired man in the front row. Most of the time, the man’s eyes were closed as he bounced to the music, shouting the lyrics with Arthur’s singing, but when he opened them, Arthur saw devotion and something strangely familiar. 

He felt tug at his heart, longing. As if he knew the man.

They were nearing the finale when he saw the man stumble and grip the railing. He shook his head and straightened again, but only for a second or two before he slumped to the side onto the unsuspecting teen girl. 

Arthur stopped singing mid-verse and jumped down the stage. He turned off the microphone automatically thanks to the years of using the equipment before letting it fall to the grass.

“Lift him over,” he yelled at two fans that seemed to be strong enough for the task.

They stared at him in shock and he had to repeat the order one more time to make them move. Two of his bodyguards were already by his side then so he only gestured for them to help him. Together they pulled the man over the railing and settled him on the ground. Arthur sent one of the bodyguards to get medics and checked the man’s pulse and breathing, calming down a bit when he found both.

He tapped the man’s cheek gently and then added a bit more force when it didn’t work.

The man slowly blinked his eyes open.

~x~

Merlin was vaguely aware of noise around him and hands on various parts of his body. He felt fingers on his neck and light smacks on his face. He wasn’t too keen to wake up properly, but _someone_ was very insistent so Merlin forced his eyes to open.

Arthur Pendragon was his _someone_.

He squeezed his eyes shut again, willing the hallucination to go away, but was met with the same sight upon opening them again.

“Stay with me,” Arthur shouted, his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “What’s your name?”

“Merlin,” he answered without hesitation, but too low for Arthur to hear.

“What?” Arthur asked and leaned closer.

“Merlin,” he repeated.

“Merlin,” Arthur said, smiling. “Given your state, you’re probably serious.” 

Merlin had no idea what Arthur was talking about, but couldn’t ask because right then medics arrived and moved him to the stretcher, gave him an oxygen mask and carried him away from the crowd to the tent build specifically for situations like this.

One of the medics asked him usual questions about allergies to meds and when was the last he ate and drank while opening a bottle of water. Merlin answered them all obediently, but his gaze was fixed on Arthur who was talking to the other medic. 

Arthur looked in his direction and smiled at him, which added light-headedness to the throbbing of Merlin’s scull. After a few more words to the medic, Arthur ran out of the tent.

~x~

“Try to keep them calm. I’ll be right back,” Arthur said to Lance who jumped off the stage after him while Gwaine was already talking to the audience.

He followed the medics into the tent then and waited while they moved Merlin onto a makeshift bed.

And of course the man’s name would be Merlin. Maybe universe was giving him a sign. 

“Are you taking him to hospital?” Arthur asked the medic who wasn’t busy checking Merlin over.

“It’s probably just dehydration, but yeah, we’ll probably take him with us once we’re done here.”

“As in after the show?”

“Yes,” the medic said with a nod. 

Arthur looked at Merlin and smiled when he met his eyes.

“You’re doing good job. Thank you,” Arthur said and left the tent, hurrying back to the stage. 

The crowd had gone absolutely crazy in his absence and went even crazier when he joined his band again.

“Enjoyed the break?” he shouted to the mike that someone must have retrieved from the ground and the crowd roared. “That’s good ‘cause it’s gonna be a wild ride.”

~x~

As the minutes dragged by, three more people were carried into the tent, all of them suffering from the dehydration. Merlin swore to himself that he’d never again go without drinking for so long on such a hot day, even if it meant losing good view because of the need to go to the loo. 

On the other hand, Arthur Pendragon jumped off the stage for him and asked him his name and touched him and smiled at him and oh god, he was so glad he hadn’t drunk enough.

He sipped his water slowly as the medic instructed him, wondering if he’d be spending a night in a hospital.

He could still hear the music and Arthur’s voice as it carried over the area, even if it was a bit muffled by the tent. He wondered why had Arthur followed and what had he been asking the medic.

Time ran by as he imagined how awesome it would be if Arthur carried him to the tent in his strong arms and he must have dozed off because next time he opened his eyes, the music was no longer playing and he could hear only shouts of excited fans as they were leaving the area.

Both medics were on the other side of the tent, talking to their other patients. Merlin decided it was probably his time to get up and leave. He swung his legs down the bed and waited for the small wave of vertigo to ebb away. With his eyes closed, the hand landing on his shoulder came as a complete surprise.

“What do you think you’re doing,” someone asked and Merlin looked up into very blue eyes of Arthur Pendragon.

“Leaving?” he said, not liking that it came out more like a question than an answer.

“No, you’re not,” Arthur said and maneuvered him back into lying position.

“Erm... Okay?” Merlin said, his heart beating impossibly fast. 

~x~

The last note of the third encore was played and his goodbye yelled into the mike. All four of them ran into the backstage, but while the others headed in the direction of their trailer, Arthur just patted them on the back and shot towards the first aid tent. 

He entered just in time to see Merlin sitting up and stopped him before the idiot fainted again trying to stand up. 

Looking into Merlin’s eyes like this for the first time felt like an electric shock to his system and he almost forgot why he put his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. Well, why other than to feel the heat of Merlin’s body through the thin layer of his T-shirt.

Merlin didn’t struggle when Arthur pushed him back on the bed, but Arthur couldn’t miss the confusion in his gaze. 

Before anything else could be said, one of the medics approached them.

“Is there anyone who could come and take you home?” the medic asked.

“No. Everyone’s busy,” Merlin said. “I could call myself a cab.”

“We’d better take you to the hospital. Just to be sure.” 

“Or he could come with me. We’re having an after show supper,” Arthur said.

The medic eyed him suspiciously. 

“It’s not a party, really. We’re too knackered to party.”

~x~

Merlin couldn’t believe his own ears. Did he really just get invited to join The Knights for a supper?

“He needs to drink a lot of water, a light meal would be good. And no alcohol,” the medic said to Arthur and then looked down at Merlin. “Of course, if he wants to go with you,” he added, but the small smile on his face was clear indication that he already knew the answer.

Merlin swallowed a few times to stop himself from blurting something like ‘fuck yes’.

“I wouldn’t mind joining you,” he said eventually.

~x~

Arthur couldn’t help himself and chuckled at hearing Merlin’s words. He was obviously trying to sound less like a very eager fanboy. It was kind of sweet, actually. 

Arthur waited for Merlin to stand up and then ushered him out of the tent. The hand he put onto small of Merlin’s back was there just to help with his balance. No other reason whatsoever. 

Well, Arthur had always been bad at lying, even to himself. 

They found the rest of the guys sitting in chairs in front of the trailer. Gwaine jumped to his feet the moment he noticed them.

“Oh, hello, gorgeous,” he said in his usual flirtatious tone.

Merlin giggled and glanced at Arthur who in that moment realized that he had unconsciously moved closer to Merlin and tightened his grip on Merlin’s waist. He let go of him and went to get himself a drink, but it didn’t fool Gwaine.

“Too late, I see,” Gwaine said with a smirk and offered Merlin his hand. “I’m Gwaine.”

“Yeah, I know,” Merlin said and shook Gwaine’s hand. “I mean, I’m Merlin.”

Arthur watched the blush that spread over Merlin’s cheekbones and a strong wave of jealousy ripped through him. Gwaine laughed and threw his arm around Merlin’s shoulder. 

“Can we keep him?” he asked and Merlin’s blush deepened.

Lance and Percy both shook hands with Merlin and exchanged a few words before the group finally moved towards the cab that had just arrived. The crew would take care of the packing.

~x~

It must have been a dream. There was no way Arthur Pendragon’s hand had been on the small of his back or that Gwaine Green had been flirting with him.

When the cab arrived, it was just a regular sized car.

“There’s not enough space,” Arthur muttered. “I’ll call another one.”

“Come on, we can squeeze in. Merlin can sit on my lap, right?” Gwaine said and started pulling Merlin towards the car.

“I won’t let you molest him, Gwaine,” Arthur rumbled.

“I could just go home,” Merlin said weakly, feeling bad for complicating the situation.

“I promised I’d keep an eye on you, so you’re coming with us,” Arthur said and this time it was him who tugged Merlin towards the cab.

“Arthur wants to take care of you,” Gwaine sang, drawing a heart in the air. “And molest you,” he whispered into Merlin’s ear loud enough for others to hear.

It took them a while to stuff themselves into the cab and the cabbie looked very dubious about it, but the vision of a nice future tip kept him from saying something.

Merlin ended sitting sideways in Arthur’s lap, leaning against the door, with Arthur’s arm wrapped around his middle to secure him in place. Lance sat in the middle of the back row with Merlin’s legs on his lap and Gwaine was by the other door, Merlin’s feet on his thigh. 

Percy, seated on the front seat, gave the driver their address and they finally set off. 

Merlin couldn’t relax. All he could concentrate on was that the object of his fantasies was warm under him and around him, that he could feel Arthur’s breath tickling the side of his neck. The driver stepped on the breaks abruptly and Merlin held onto the nearest thing, Arthur’s shirt, and pressed himself to Arthur’s chest before he could consciously think about it.

~x~

The sudden full-body contact came as a surprise to Arthur and he inhaled sharply. He tightened his hold on Merlin even more and closed his eyes to overcome the sudden urge to kiss the skin of Merlin’s throat that was taunting him with its closeness.

“Sorry,” Merlin said and let go of Arthur’s shirt, but Arthur didn’t ease his own grip.

Merlin slowly started melting into Arthur’s embrace and Arthur brushed the tip of his nose just under Merlin’s ear.

“What the..?” Merlin asked, tensing in Arthur’s arms.

Arthur held his breath, sure that he overdid it this time, but then Merlin started wriggling in his lap.

“Stop it!” Merlin said and wriggled some more.

“Nope,” came the reply from the other side of the car.

Merlin was squirming and giggling and finally full on laughing.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Merlin huffed out between bouts of laughter and Arthur could do absolutely nothing about his cock hardening with Merlin rubbing all over him like this.

“Gwaine,” Arthur said, warningly, but Gwaine only laughed and started another onslaught on Merlin’s ticklish feet. 

Merlin threw his head back with another fit of giggles and his nape connected with the glass of the window. He went limp in Arthur’s arms and a small ‘ow’ escaped his lips.

“Gwaine, enough!” Arthur snapped. “You okay?” he asked Merlin, his fingers moving to Merlin’s hair to search for the bump. 

“Yeah, fine,” Merlin said, pulling away from Arthur’s chest.

~x~

Merlin felt like a complete idiot for making such a spectacle of himself. He tried to apologize to Arthur, but the other man just shrugged. He seemed distant for the rest of the ride. Merlin was relieved when they arrived at their destination, but only until Arthur spoke.

“They didn’t notice us yet, but we’ve got company, guys,” he said. “I really don’t want to drag you into this,” he told Merlin.

“I think it’s too late for that,” Merlin said, nervous laugh escaping him.

“Okay, then,” Arthur said. “Gwaine, you’ll go first. Try to get their attention. Percy, you could try obscuring the view into the car. We’ll need a bit of time to save Merlin’s dignity here.”

“Yes, Sire,” Gwaine said, smirking. 

“We’ll go straight inside. No stopping, no answering their questions,” Arthur told Merlin who simply nodded, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

“Go,” Arthur said and Gwaine and Percy exited the car.

Lance shifted to the side and helped Merlin off of Arthur’s lap. Then it was Arthur’s turn to get out and when Merlin finally climbed out of the cab, there were people running towards them and camera flashes and he’d have forgotten all about moving if Arthur didn’t caught his wrist and tugged him in the direction of the hotel entrance.

Dozens of questions were shouted at them during their relatively short walk to the building.

“Who’s your new boyfriend, Mr. Pendragon?”

“How long’ve you been dating?”

“Was it a love at first sight?”

“Can we know your name?”

“What happened at the concert?”

They strode straight through the hall, heading for the lift. The hotel security didn’t let anyone but them enter the hall, so they could only hear muffled sounds of the small crowd trying to get inside.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked the moment the door closed after them.

“Yeah,” Merlin breathed out, but his legs felt wobbly and he was probably still affected by the dehydration if the sudden dizziness was any indication.

“Easy there,” Arthur said, his arm once again around Merlin’s middle, and how did Merlin not notice that his eyes had closed and his knees buckled under him?

He let out a startled yelp when Arthur swept him off his feet and his hand clutched Arthur’s shirt once again. 

“Isn’t it a bit early to carry him bridal style?” Gwaine asked, laughing, and Merlin was sure his whole face must have been bright red right at that moment.

“Shut up,” Arthur said and Merlin fidgeted, hoping Arthur would put him down again. “And you stop moving. I don’t want to drop you,” was Arthur’s only reply to that.

He was deposited on a comfy sofa in no time and Arthur pressed a cool wet cloth Lance brought him to Merlin’s forehead. Percy handed him a bottle of water with a straw sticking out of the top, and he started drinking before Arthur could order him to.

“Does this mean we’re keeping him?” Gwaine asked.

~x~

Arthur wasn’t sure how after years of concerting he could have forgotten about the usual onslaught of journalists waiting for them in front of their hotel.

It was clear from the badly concealed panic in Merlin’s eyes that he hadn’t thought about that either. 

Arthur wanted to just walk through, but then Merlin froze after getting out of the car and Arthur reached out automatically, grabbing Merlin’s hand and dragging him inside. He was dreading the headlines of the tomorrow’s newspapers even as he smiled politely, not answering the nosy questions of the tabloid vultures. 

It came as no big surprise when Merlin nearly collapsed in the lift, but the sudden surge of protectiveness definitely surprised Arthur. It was like earlier in the evening when he saw Merlin go down and all he wanted was to hold him close and take care of him. Now there weren’t thousands of fans watching him though, so he simply did as he wished and carried Merlin in, ignoring Gwaine’s remarks and Merlin’s feeble attempts at freeing himself.

He’d promised the medic he’d take care of Merlin, right? 

Arthur could feel the heat of Merlin’s skin through the wet cloth as he smoothed it over Merlin’s forehead. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight of Merlin greedily sucking at the straw.

“Does this mean we’re keeping him?” Gwaine asked and Arthur was ready to snap at him if Merlin hadn’t spoken first.

“Not a puppy,” he said and Arthur huffed out a laugh.

“I’m more of a cat person. They’re much more flexible,” Gwaine said with a wicked grin.

Arthur sent him a warning look and Gwaine held his hands up in a mock surrender.

“No need to get so territorial, Princess. We all got the message. Loud and clear. Several times.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Arthur said, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

“So, stroking Merlin’s hand for past five minutes means absolutely nothing.”

~x~

Merlin was very sure he was unconscious on the ground at the concert area. Things like this just didn’t happen in real life, did they?

Arthur was still sitting right beside him on the sofa, watching him with what Merlin was afraid to even think about as a tender expression. He was holding Merlin’s hand, rubbing soothing circles over its back. He was completely unaware of his actions, Merlin realized when he saw the look of surprise on Arthur ‘s face after one of Gwaine’s remarks.

Merlin expected him to pull away and tell Gwaine to piss off, instead Arthur’s fingers tightened their hold and he looked into Merlin’s eyes.

“Does it bother you?” Arthur asked, and really, what more could Merlin do right in that moment than shake his head?

~x~

Arthur was selfish. He shouldn’t have been taking advantage of Merlin. He was a huge fan of their band, compromised by the circumstances. He should let go of Merlin’s hand, move away and give Merlin space.

Instead they spent all evening sitting side by side, trading jokes and stealing food from each other’s plates. 

Gwaine kept muttering ‘get a room’ under his breath, but Arthur stopped caring a long time ago, because it made Merlin smile (or giggle on a few memorable occasions) and Arthur liked Merlin’s smiles.

~x~

Merlin decided that there was nothing wrong with enjoying your hallucination and left all the caution behind. Pressing himself shamelessly to Arthur’s side, he shared stories Will had e-mailed him from work about stupid questions from customers calling the technical support line.

He was drunk on happiness (and only happiness because Arthur didn’t let him drink anything but juice and water) and wished for Arthur to heed Gwaine’s advise and drag Merlin to his bedroom. 

In the end, Arthur dragged him to his bedroom, but only to insist that Merlin should sleep which was so not what Merlin had planned.

“So, there will be photos of me with you and articles about our secret love affair tomorrow morning and I don’t even get to kiss you? It’s a bit unfair, don’t you think?” Merlin said, only half joking.

Arthur crowded him to the wall, hands on each side of Merlin’s head.

“Is that what you really want, Merlin? To kiss, according to Twitter, the Britain’s hottest eligible bachelor?”

There was bitterness in Arthur’s voice.

“I want to kiss Arthur, a funny guy who likes pizza and hates daytime TV.”

Arthur was searching for something in Merlin’s eyes and Merlin waited, holding his gaze. He let his eyes fall shut when Arthur started leaning closer and then their lips touched for the first time.

~x~

It was nothing like Arthur had imagined. Merlin’s lips were soft and warm and all sorts of wonderful, just like he expected, but the sudden pressure at his mind, the flashes of memories that were and weren’t his, it was nothing he was prepared for.

Even through all this, he wasn’t able to pull away from Merlin who seemed to be in similar condition. He was gasping Arthur’s name, his fingers digging into Arthur’s sides. Arthur dove for another searing kiss, Merlin’s breathy exhales of ‘please, Arthur, Sire, Arthur,’ driving him crazy.

And then suddenly everything popped into place, his mind calm and focused once more. Only he wasn’t exactly same as before. And neither was Merlin, he realized, staring into the gold of Merlin’s eyes.

~x~

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered, his magic running over his lover’s body and spreading through the flat, checking for injuries and danger as if not even a day passed since the last time he’d done the same.

“Merlin,” Arthur answered, his voice low and rich with feelings.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered again, his mind full of everything he wanted to say, to do, to give, but Arthur was already leading him to the bed, stripping him with calm of years of sharing intimacies.

They let their bodies talk, slipping into the easy routine of touches and kisses, checking if something had changed, if they liked the same things as before. 

Joined together, they set a slow rhythm, enjoying their new chance at their first time. 

Merlin gasped Arthur’s name when he came, untouched, and Arthur followed shortly after, listening to Merlin’s quiet moans.

~x~

“I’m afraid Britain will have to find a new hottest eligible bachelor now,” Merlin mumbled into Arthur’s shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> You can comment [on my lj](http://elirwen.livejournal.com/54828.html) if you prefer.


End file.
